A boil-water order has been issued to 25,000 customers of the Kent County Water Authority after tests Friday found that a storage tank was contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Lynn Arditi Journal staff writer lynnarditi

A boil-water order has been issued to 25,000 customers of the Kent County Water Authority after tests Friday found that a storage tank was contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Water authority customers in Cranston, Coventry, Warwick, West Warwick, East Greenwich and some in North Kingstown and West Greenwich should boil their water vigorously for at least one minute before drinking it, cooking with it or brushing their teeth with it, the authority’s general manager and chief engineer, Timothy J. Brown, said. It's the first time in more than 25 years that the water authority has had an E. coli contamination in the drinking water supply, Brown said.

The boil-water order also applies to the Potowomut section of Warwick, which is supplied by the City of Warwick’s water department, Brown said. The city gets its water from the Kent County Water Authority, he said.

Residents uncertain if they should boil their water need only consult their water bills, Brown said. If they are in any of the seven communities listed above and their bill is from the Kent County Water Authority, they need to boil — as do customers in Potowomut.

Customers also are advised not to bathe infants and young children in the water, Brown said, because they may swallow some.

Restaurants and food handlers in the affected area should use bottled or boiled water and purchased ice for food preparation until further notice, state health officials said in a statement.

School children in the affected area, they said, also should bring to school with them bottled or boiled water that has been cooled.

Test results from samples taken from a storage tank Friday that came back to the water authority at around 9:30 a.m. Sunday showed that the tank was contaminated, Brown said. The tank was immediately taken off line, he said, and the authority notified state health officials.

The presence of E. coli bacteria generally is associated with sewage or animal waste. The presence of the bacteria in drinking water is generally the result of a problem with water treatment or the pipes, according to a statement released Sunday afternoon. The tests that detected the E. coli bacteria in the storage tank required that the samples be incubated twice over a 72-hour period, Brown said.

The water authority notified customers “well ahead of” the mandated 24-hour period after receiving test results, Brown said. Customers were being alerted to the boil-water advisory through the news media, e said.

Symptoms of E. coli exposure may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, jaundice, headaches and fatigue, though those symptoms are also associated with a number of other illnesses. Infants, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system is at an increased risk for developing more severe symptoms, the health department advises. Consumers who experience any of these symptoms, even if tap water has been avoided, should call their healthcare provider.

The boil-water advisory is expected to last three to four days, Brown said, while water authority staff test and retest the water to ensure that it is clean. State health officials will then have to certify that it is safe for drinking before lifting the boil-water advisory, he said.

“We hope by Wednesday or Thursday we’ll be clean,” Brown said.

Water samples were being collected throughout the distribution system Sunday, and the process will continue Monday to determine whether or not the contamination has spread. Progress reports will be issued daily at 3 p.m., the statement said.

For more information, call Kent County Water Authority at (401) 821-9300. For general information about drinking water, contact the health department’s informationl line at (401) 222-5960, Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.